Summer 2025 Translational Bioinformatics Internship

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams rich in diversity. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

Position Summary

Spatial transcriptomics (ST) marks a significant advancement in clinical medicine and therapy by providing a unique perspective on gene expression within tissues.  A key contribution of ST analysis is how it allows us to observe cellular communities, in different physiological and pathological conditions, a challenge that we still observe in many cancers including glioblastoma (GBM). As such, incorporation of this innovative technology can aid our understanding of GBM’s disease mechanisms as well as identifying new therapeutic targets by revealing potential interactions between cells. However, the field encounters challenges such as noise from the sequencing platform, computational biases and accurate interpretation of the computational results.  Addressing these issues, and accurate interpretation of ST data, is core in aiding our overall understanding of different cancer etiologies, through accurate identification of cell types and states. Proper cell annotation can greatly enhance our understanding of shifts in cellular communities and reveal interactions related to GBM’s disease progression. Despite these hurdles, spatial transcriptomics holds tremendous transformative potential, highlighting the need to overcome these challenges, improve methods, and explore the complex relationships between genetic activity, cellular behavior, and disease development.

We are seeking a highly motivated student for a summer internship in Translational Bioinformatics Hematology-Oncology team. This internship will focus on extensive dissection of spatial transcriptomic data to help elucidate the interplay between Glioblastoma (GBM) molecular subtypes and the tumor microenvironment (TME).  A successful candidate will work collaboratively within an experienced cross-functional team of clinical, computational and biology scientists, to conduct a thorough characterizing of available GBM ST data. This work will include a detailed evaluation of different cell annotation methods, including reference-based and reference-free techniques. The insights gathered by the intern will be crucial in supporting BMS’ early discovery projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct spatial transcriptome analysis using various platforms, such as 10x and Visium.
• Evaluate Different Cell Annotation and Label Transfer Methods: A key responsibility will be to assess and compare various cell annotation and label transfer techniques, including both single-cell reference-based and reference-free methods. This will involve analyzing the effectiveness and precision of these approaches in different contexts. The intern should have a solid grasp of computational biology and statistical methods to effectively carry out these evaluations.
•  Develop a Systematic Recommendation Workflow for GBM ST analysis: The intern will also be tasked with creating a systematic best practice workflow. This workflow should incorporate the findings from ST analysis and the benchmarking of cell annotation methods, designed to be user-friendly and adaptable for various research needs. Strong skills in data integration and workflow development, as well as clear communication of recommendations, will be essential.

• Evaluate and deploy cutting edge computational approaches for spatial transcriptome analysis to answer key questions regarding disease biology.

• Perform analysis and visualizations in a reproducible research framework.

• Deliver results and present findings for decision making. 

Qualifications & Experience

• Master or PhD student enrolled in computational biology, bioinformatics, statistics, computer science, data science or related fields.
• Demonstrable hands-on experience in languages like R or Python including extensive experience with specialized packages core in omics analysis such as Seurat, scVI-tools and Scanyp.
• Demonstrate experience in Spatial Transcriptomic analysis and deep understanding of cutting these cutting-edge technologies.
• A strong foundation of biology and keen interest in oncology.

• A foundational understating on cancer genomics techniques and datasets. 

• Must be able to work full-time for the program duration.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in an inclusive culture, promoting diversity in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has a diverse occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

BMS cares about your well-being and the well-being of our staff, customers, patients, and communities. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that all employees be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and keep up to date with Covid-19 boosters.

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.